August 2014 – ICELAND – Iceland has raised its aviation warning level after a new eruption from a fissure near the Bardarbunga volcano Sunday morning. The eruption was described as “a very calm lava eruption” which could “hardly be seen on seismometers.” Planes are now banned from flying within 6,000 feet of the volcano peak. Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, producing ash that disrupted air travel across Europe. It happened in roughly the same place as an earlier eruption on Friday morning, and is the third to happen in the area in the last week. Scientists have been on high alert after Iceland’s largest volcanic system has been hit by thousands of earthquakes over the last two weeks. The news comes just one day after geologists in Iceland lowered the alert and said the eruption of Bardarbunga was over. If this recent eruption teaches us anything, it tells us just how unpredictable these volcanic systems are and that nature has a mercurial mind of its own. –WGN TEP